Learn More About the Families that We Serve
Read inspiring stories from our local partner families who are working toward or have achieved affordable homeownership through Habitat for Humanity Rogue Valley. Each story highlights their journey, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the stability and hope that come with having a safe, permanent place to call home. These families represent the real impact of community support in action.
The Ramirez Family
House #96
My name is Jose. I've always worked hard for everything in my life. I was a fisherman in Alaska until four years ago, when my life changed dramatically — I became a paraplegic. Since then, I've faced many challenges, including serious health issues like infections and bed sores.
One of my biggest goals is to own a home where I can raise my two kids, Isaiah (10) and Iliana (4). We've lived in the Rogue Valley for over 15 years, but our current housing situation is difficult. It's overcrowded, and the bathroom setup makes daily routines — like showering — physically exhausting, requiring multiple transfers each time.
Being in a wheelchair adds extra challenges. I often get stuck, can’t move freely, or can’t even fit into certain rooms. Having a home of our own, one that’s accessible and safe, would mean everything to me and my children. It would give each of us our own space and bring stability, comfort, and independence to our lives.
The Grant Family
House #95
Harlow and I would like to begin by thanking Habitat for Humanity for this incredible opportunity.
My daughter is now 14 years old. She lost her mother when she was just two, and I’ve been a single father raising her ever since. I also have an older daughter named Bianca. We lived in California until Bianca graduated from Santa Clara University, where she attended on a scholarship.
We moved to Medford, Oregon, when Harlow started fourth grade. We came here during COVID to assist my mother with caring for her ailing stepfather. Since then, we've been living with my mom and my stepfather, who has dementia. It quickly became clear that finding an affordable home to buy was nearly impossible, with rising costs and the burden of everyday expenses on top of rent.
Having a home of our own would mean everything to us. It would give Harlow a sense of belonging, a personal space to grow, and a place where we can make lasting memories and build our family’s history.
Thank you for giving us the chance to experience the security and comfort of a home we can truly call our own.
The Torres Family
House #94
Since separating from Owens father, I have been navigating life as a single mother - doing my best to create a strong loving foundation for my little boy. We are currently living in an apartment that is under 700 sq. ft and located in a neighborhood that doesn’t always feel the safest. In the time we have lived there, I’ve experienced theft and uncomfortable interactions with neighbors.
Becoming a homeowner through Habitat for Humanity isn’t just about having a house- it’s about creating a home that provides safety and stability for Owen. A home where he can have more room to play and just be a kid. A home in a neighborhood where he can thrive and not just get by and with that comes peace for me as his mother.
Owen is my motivation and my reason to keep pushing forward. To be accepted as a Habitat homeowner makes me feel proud and accomplished as his mother.
The Allen Family
House #93
Hi, my name is Kirsten. I’m a single mom of three young children, and all of my family lives over two thousand miles away. Being accepted as a Habitat partner has truly changed my life in ways I never thought possible. In today’s economy, it's difficult just to make ends meet—let alone dream of owning a home. For a long time, that dream felt completely out of reach.
I am also a survivor of domestic abuse. I share that not for sympathy, but to offer strength and hope to others who may be feeling stuck in a similar situation. There was a time when I felt completely alone, responsible for my children with no support system nearby and no clear way out. I believed I had to stay in that situation because I didn’t see another option.
But today, I want to be a voice of encouragement. You do have options. There is hope. You are strong enough to change your story. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. Becoming a Habitat partner gave me the opportunity to build a future for my family—a safe, stable place to call home. And that has made all the difference.
The Thompson Family
House #92
If you asked me when my life truly began, I’d say January 21, 2021, at 6:54 PM—when I gave birth to my daughter, Monet. I was just 16, and from that moment on, everything changed. She became my reason to keep going.
At 18, I moved to Southern Oregon to escape the abuse I was facing. I left behind my three best friends, my mom, and my sisters—the people I depended on most. I moved in with my dad, who offered limited support, but helped me get into school and start my career. A few months later, I moved into my first apartment. It wasn’t much—no heat or AC, ant infestations, and loud neighbors—but it was mine, and I was proud.
After a difficult summer, we moved again to a slightly better place. Now we’re struggling with high rent, unsafe conditions, and ongoing stress. A recent incident where a man followed us home has left me sleeping on the couch most nights just to feel safe. Still, I’ve done my best to create a home for Monet with the little I have.
This housing opportunity would be life-changing. I dream of a place where I can finally paint my room pink and give Monet the safe, stable home she deserves. It would also give me the chance to return to college and pursue the career I’ve put on hold.
I’m so grateful to be part of this journey, and I’m committed to giving my little family the future we’ve been working so hard for.
The Salas Family
House #91
My name is Noelia, and I am a single mother to three children—Ulises, Elia, and Thomas. Thomas joined our family through adoption, and we feel incredibly blessed to have him in our lives. We currently live in a small two-bedroom home, which once felt cozy and comfortable, but as my children grow, space has become very limited. While I’ve always dreamed of owning a home, life has taken unexpected turns. Health challenges and having a young child at home have required my full attention. Early in the adoption process, I made the decision to slow down and be more present for Thomas. When Ulises and Elia were babies, I worked constantly just to make ends meet, and I missed out on a lot of their early milestones. I didn’t want to miss those precious moments again.
Over the years, I’ve learned different trades and have almost always worked two jobs, but with the constantly rising cost of housing, the goal of homeownership has always been just out of reach. Being accepted for a Habitat for Humanity home is truly life-changing. It means security, stability, and the chance to give my kids the space and foundation they need to thrive. This opportunity allows me to finally move forward—not just for myself, but for the future of my children. We are deeply grateful and excited to be part of this journey.
The Garay Family
House #90
We are a family of five, raising three children ages 12, 11, and 8. Two of our children are autistic. We moved to the Rogue Valley from California in 2017 in search of stability and a better future for our family. I am a stay-at-home mom, caring for our autistic children and meeting their unique needs, especially our son with higher support needs. After realizing public school was not a safe or supportive fit for him, we made the decision to begin homeschooling in 2021 a choice that has helped him thrive, but also makes it difficult for me to seek employment and contribute financially toward our dream of owning a home.
My partner has made major lifestyle changes and works tirelessly to support our family on one income while I remain home as a full-time caregiver. We have lived in our small two-bedroom apartment since 2018, For a long time, homeownership felt out of reach. When we learned about Habitat for Humanity, we took a leap of faith and applied. Being selected gave us hope and brought us one step closer to making our dream of a stable, lasting home for our children a reality. We are incredibly grateful and honored to be a Habitat family.
The Dalton Family
House #89
Hello there, my name is Nathan. I’m 34 years old and I install appliances for Kelly’s. My son’s name is Maverick—he’s 10 years old and attends Howard Elementary.
Our journey started in 2015 in Grants Pass. In 2018, my son and I moved to Medford in search of a better life. We are full of excitement, fun, and hope for the future.
One of our biggest goals has always been to own a home that we can grow into and truly make our own. With housing prices always on the rise, and as a single father with one income, that goal often felt out of reach. Our current housing situation is not ideal—we are dealing with mold issues, and the home was built in the 1950s, making it very inefficient to heat and cool. This has caused our electric bills to be extremely high.
Thanks to the incredible support and blessing from the Habitat crew, our dream is finally becoming a reality. We are beyond grateful for this opportunity—one that no bank or HUD program was able to offer us. My son is very excited about the new friends he will make, and I am just as excited and truly looking forward to our future.
The Jorgensen Family
House #88
My name is Ana, and I am a single mom to three amazing boys — Sebastian (11), Logan (10), and Jace (7).
I immigrated to the United States when I was 19, grateful for the opportunity my grandfather worked so hard to make possible. I always dreamed of achieving the American dream, including owning a home one day.
After 13 years of marriage, my husband and I divorced. During that difficult time, we lost our home due to debt. Even working three jobs, I couldn’t afford the house on my own. Eventually, I was able to move my boys into a small, older single-wide mobile home on the outskirts of Ashland. We are thankful for it, but with only two bedrooms and one bathroom, space is tight. My oldest son has one room, my two younger boys share the other, and I sleep on the couch. We also face ongoing plumbing and electrical issues, but it is what I can afford. Owning a home again felt impossible.
I never imagined that God’s plan would include a brand-new home in Ashland. As a low-income single mom, this feels like a miracle. With an affordable payment, we will finally have stability, space, and peace. I will be able to build something to leave for my children, and my boys will see that with faith and perseverance, hard things are possible.
We could never do this without Habitat. We are deeply grateful to everyone who makes this dream possible for families like ours.
Ana, Sebastian, Logan, and Jace
The Long Family
House #87
Our story, where to start. My husband and I met here in Ashland, my hometown, a little over 21 years ago. We have now been married 20 years and have been blessed to stay here in the Valley. We have worked many jobs and hours just trying to barely make ends meet. Our oldest son, soon to be 17, has loved being a part of our community and part of the sports scene since he could walk.
As with many local families, we were already struggling before covid entered our lives. That February-March our world was told about this horrible pandemic, the next month April our little family of three found out we would soon become 4. We were over the moon excited. For us as parents that was also a mixed bag of emotions with this new pandemic looking over our heads. Unlike our first child, all visits would be alone behind a mask. As a family, we navigated the murky waters. Our dreams of owning our own home would be further away. December 2020 our 2nd amazing son was born. Bright eyed and happy.
Somewhere around 7 months we noticed that our youngest son would rarely make eye contact and would never respond to his name. As the months went on, we communicated with his doctor and monitored his progress. At 2 years old he was diagnosed with sever Autism along with developmental delays. This has and will continue to be a long and sometimes difficult process for our family. He will live with us for the rest of our lives needing full-time care. This quickly took a front seat to many life goals and added a slew of extra challenges, including homeownership.
This opportunity that Habitat for Humanity is giving my husband, and I is a miracle. This gives us a chance to provide a forever home for our two sons to live and return to. A safe place for our youngest to develop, learn and grow. We will forever be grateful to this program and to these people who work and volunteer to make our dreams come true. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
The Mercado Family
House #86
My name is Jesus Mercado, and my wife is Ana Rosa Gonzalez Mota. I work full-time doing landscaping and maintenance at the Charles Point Apartments in Medford, and my wife works part-time at Harry & David to help with our living expenses.
We have three young children: Nestor, who is 12, Miranda, who is 10, and Larry, who is 5 years old. We have been living in a mobile home from 1978 at Rustic Mobile Home Park in Central Point for 15 years. I have made some renovations to make it livable, but now it is far too small for our family. My two oldest children share a bedroom, but as they enter their preteen years, they will soon need their own space.
There are many old trees surrounding our home, and I am afraid that branches could fall and damage our home or injure one of us.
Having a larger home would be a dream come true for us because we are a low-income family. We want the best for our children, and this home would provide us with a permanent place to belong for the rest of our lives. Our family is truly grateful to have been chosen for this incredible opportunity to own a home, and we thank God every day.
Thank you, Habitat for Humanity, for choosing us and for all the effort in making this dream come true.
The Smyth Family
House #85
My family is a set of warriors that have overcome so much that was meant to break us. We heal and grow stronger together every day. As a single mother, I have struggled significantly with the tragic and devastating loss of both my parents, domestic violence, addiction, homelessness, and child welfare involvement that led to the loss of my children. I have lived all over the Rogue Valley for 20years, half of which I was homeless. By the grace of God, today I am a person in long time recovery. Today I am a college graduate with the most amazing career as a parent mentor. As a parent mentor I focus on helping women navigate through the child welfare system, get them connected to services, and work towards reunification. I have been able to get 3 out of 6 of my children back in my care, two of which had been previously adopted. Their ages today are 21, 16, and 5. I am blessed to get my 14-year-old quite often. We currently live in a very small, upstairs, 1 bedroom apartment where the 5-year-old and I sleep in the living room and my 16-year-old shares his bedroom with the 14-year-old. It’s very small and very old. The winters are cold, and the summers are very hot. The conditions are not the best, but we have done an amazing job of making this our home.
What this habitat home means for my family is that we can finally put our past completely behind us and fully move forward. It means for the very first time I will be able to have something of my own to live in. It means purpose, stability, and achievement. It means partnering with a phenomenal organization that has allowed us the opportunity to experience home ownership.
The Strickland Family
House #84
Two months after my 19th birthday I became a single mother to my son. Since that time I have worked 2 to 3 jobs at a time in order to financially maintain a household, while saving for our future goals as well. I have had the goal to be a homeowner for as long as I can remember. In 2020 I could feel that this goal was almost within my reach. In September of 2020, my family lost our apartment to the Almeda Fire. After the fire we lived in a shelter for over 2 months before finding a new apartment to move into, which should have been the reprieve from a traumatic situation, but moving into that new home and replacing the things that had been lost took up years of hard earned savings. After moving into our new apartment, it also became very clear that there was criminal and drug activity in our new neighborhood on a daily basis. This new unsafe environment and those savings being gone left us back at square one and feeling hopeless.
Being accepted into the Habitat program is one of the most life changing experiences I have ever had. My family is feeling so excited and blessed to be actively working towards purchasing a home from this program in a financially doable way. The Habitat family has welcomed us with open arms and we are beyond grateful to be a part of the community. Becoming a Habitat Homeowner has made it possible for us to finally purchase our forever home.
Cassie purchased her Habitat home on 9/5/2024
The Corbin-Cooper Family
House #83
My name is Heather and in 2008 I packed up my son and moved to the Rogue Valley from Vancouver Washington. The soaring cost of rent and the high cost of living left no choice so we headed South to Medford because rents were much more affordable here at that time. Soon after our arrival, my son’s father also relocated to the area and we eventually expanded our family with the arrival of our twin daughters in 2011.
As a family of five, there were certainly struggles and the biggest of which was housing! We would find a bigger apartment that we could afford and then the cost would jump and we would be forced to something smaller to afford it. Then it would happen all over again, one time even needing to live in a fifth wheel when nothing affordable was available.
Our current living situation is not the best. With leaks and ventilation problems, the apartment has a severe mold and dry rot problem. The problem has negatively impacted our health and our budget. We have to replace clothes, shoes, bedding, etc. frequently due to mildew smell or things getting brittle and damaged from constant moisture and then drying them out. It has just become too much. I have always dreamed of the opportunity to join the Habitat for Humanity program but we never quite met the requirements. I have worked hard and now being selected and having this opportunity is so exciting. This will be life changing! It is almost unbelievable that I will soon have a beautiful home for me and my family.
Heather purchased her Habitat home on 11/2/2024.
The Foote Family
House #82
Hello, my name is Kaylee. Rogue River has been my home and where my heart is happiest for the larger part of 24 years. I have two Boys (Wyatt and Theodore) that attend Rogue River Elementary.
In February of 2020, right before Covid-19 and the Almeda fire affected us all, I was able to find a small home for myself and my boys after a divorce. A few short months of living in our new home, the neighborhood began to be bombarded with unhoused drug users and other dangerous people. The apartment was E. 9th Street in Medford, located right under I-5 across from RCC, at the foot bridge along the Greenway. It rapidly became more unsafe. My two Sons could no longer play outside, we woke up most mornings to our trash bins opened and the contents scattered across our parking lot. At the ages of 4 and 7 My Children had witnessed drug and needle use, physical altercations, both Male and Female nudity, indecent exposure as well as people urinating and defecating on our sidewalk and yard. My daily conversations with them broke my heart. I had called 911, and the non-emergency number more times in those two years than most will in their entire life.
During Covid-19 I was homeschooling my oldest through the Rogue River School district. When the schools opened their doors again I knew I needed to move closer to the school and the daycare my sons attended. Rogue River has notoriously been a hard community to find a home in but in April of 2022 I finally found a place in Rogue River, just steps from the school. No more sleepless nights, no more fear and watching our backs. Unfortunately, our new home came at a price. $1,251 a month for rent plus electricity, smaller than our last home with only one bathroom, our heating and air does not adequately cover the whole home. My Sons share a tiny space where their bunk bed is too large to safely keep away from the baseboard heater so we don't use it in the winter. We share one small laundry unit between the four units and they are coin operated at $3.25 a load. With the occasional accident and two active boys, school clothes, sports uniforms, practice active wear and my daily clothing we are spending anywhere from $50 to $100 a month just to do our laundry. Since living in our apartments, we have had numerous problems with our neighbors fighting, slamming doors, using profanity and blasting their music even at 3 in the morning. I have found myself back to the frustrations I had at my prior apartment, only this time paying more and having less.
As a child my family moved around constantly. I attended 3 different elementary schools by 3rd grade before landing at Evans Valley Elementary in Wimer. I don't want that for my children. This community is my home and my tiny family thrives in it. If I were to be out of work for any reason, if my car were to decide and quit on me tomorrow. If they raise my rent, or gas, or the price of groceries any more. I'd be unable to provide. Being a single Mother, I do not have the luxury of figuring out how to bring two incomes into my home. Being able to own our home and be secure in our home is everything I have ever wanted. Being a part of building the roof over my children's heads would provide a sense of empowerment and capability I have yet to know. Knowing that my mtg is a reasonable cost and that if something were to happen, I could still provide is everything. I enjoy spending time helping others, being a part of a community and proudly advocating for what I love and do.
Kaylee purchased her Habitat home on 11/02/2024
The Martinez Family
House #81
Amongst several battles and challenges, it hasn’t been easy to get to where we are. However, everything I’ve faced as a single mother has been worth it for my kids. Here’s a little bit of our story. I remember my son's first day in elementary school in Ashland. It was Spring 2008 when I dropped him off and I was so nervous and anxious for him because he only spoke Spanish and obviously didn’t have any friends. And everyday I’d think to myself ‘was this the right choice?’. I’d go to work at my minimum wage job in a factory for 8 hours a day, sometimes longer to make ends meet, then I’d pick my son up and we’d go home to a room we rented from my uncle at the time and which we shared common areas with. As years passed, my son became a fluent English speaker and my English also improved significantly. He did great in school and was advancing as normal.
In 2010, I heard about low income housing. I applied for it and after a long wait, I was approved by the Housing Authority of Jackson County. I felt such an accomplishment and happiness that I was able to afford a place for my son and I to move into and call it our home. My daughter Zuria was born in 2012, and my son Adrian was thriving in his studies. As time went on, my daughter's father left the picture in 2015, and I was once again a single mother now with two young children to raise. Stress was high, income wasn’t too great, and I felt defeated. However, life continued. It wasn’t until 2018 I met my now husband, Benjamin, in Mexico and my world turned around. As we both work together on getting him to the U.S, it’s been a very long and hard process.
We have lived for almost 12 years in our apartment, but as my daughter gets older and Adrian does too, we need a better and bigger place to live. Zuria is 10 years old and Adrian is 21, as of now, we’ve outgrown our small apartment. My daughter and I share a bedroom, and my son has his own. But because my daughter and I share a room, we barely have room to fit our clothes, more furniture for storage, and other necessary bedroom essentials; and buying a bunk bed to save room is out of budget for me during these times. When my husband is here, we’ll need our own bedroom as much as my daughter and son will. This apartment has been a wonderful place to live, but It’s too small for us now. Zuria also always talks about having a pet dog, and painting her own room but because of the apartment rules, we’re unable to have either. It really hurts listening to your kids wants and not being able to do much about it.
The current home prices are expensive and interest rates are very high, it’s almost impossible for me to afford a mortgage on my own. But because of Habitat, my dream can come true. This new home will mean a new milestone, and accomplishment for me. It’ll mean safety, comfort, and a place to grow for my children and a place for my husband to feel safe and get his new life started. I see a bright future, and a much more happy family for me. This grand opportunity also gives me so much joy knowing I’ll be able to leave something for kids in the future, a home where so many memories will be made.
The Cohen Family
House #80
It was a hopeless situation, I had moved my family across the ocean back to my home country and away from theirs, with only a few suitcases for the hope of buying our own home, and was now told that because of my student loans that I took out for my education, which I have been paying off for 20 years, I would never qualify to be a homeowner.My family moved back to the US in the summer of 2019 from Israel. I am a multi-lingual American of Latino descent that lived in Israel for 13 years, married there and had 4 daughters. The two driving reasons we left Israel was because of educational opportunities for our girls and because we knew we would never be able to afford owning a home in Israel. I landed a contract in Ashland as a first grade teacher at a local Waldorf farm school and was supporting a family of 6 on a very meager take home salary of $2500/month. Because he still had not been granted a work permit, my husband was still awaiting his green card and began working in the CBDindustry to try to help contribute something to our finances, learning a whole new trade and paid far less than he was paid in his home country.
When I lived in Colorado as a single teacher 13 years prior, I had no difficulty finding a rental, but when I moved to Oregon as a mother with a family, we encountered harsh discrimination for our family size. Landlord after landlord turned us down because we have 4 children and blatantly told us we have ‘too many daughters’. Some stated, “they would not do that to the neighbors”. When I would ask to rent a 2 bedroom because that was what we could afford for our budget, they would haughtily quote some Oregon Occupancy Law and say they could not rent us a 2 bedroom if we had 4 children. We were on the verge of being homeless, if not for the kindness and generosity of a complete stranger who offered to let us stay in one of his homes that he used to house his construction workers, to give us time to find a rental.
We finally found an Air BNB that wanted to cover the off season and rented us their one bedroom cabin for $1700/mo. We had 2 of the girls sleep on the 2 couches in the living room and 2 girls sleep on mattresses in the bedroom around our bed. We were just grateful we had found something and that someone finally said yes to renting to us. I had never before felt guilty for having 4 daughters before moving here. The other challenge was that local rental agencies require you to have 3x the income of the rental fees. With my substandard teaching salary despite having a Master’s degree and my husband’s farm pay, we were nowhere near that and could not even apply for rentals. The only chance would be to apply for landlord- managed rentals. However, we would show up for viewings for a rental and compete with 30 other people lined up to see the rental and the preference would always be for the singles or retirees and our family of 6 was never chosen.
In my house hunt online, strangers told me I was in the wrong place for my financial position and advised me to move to eastern Oregon where it is cheaper to live as a teacher. Friends would encourage me to go to viewings alone, to withhold information from the landlords in order to not disqualify myself immediately and tell me it was in my legal right to not disclose how many children I have. Suddenly, it felt like I was being told to lie by people who cared about me to be able to find a home for my family, once more reinforcing the feeling that I was being punished for having more than one or two children. Last summer, a friend tagged me on the Habitat Home Project post and it was the first time I felt a ray of hope for my family’s housing situation since moving to Oregon.
Since moving to the valley, I immediately began meeting with mortgage lenders to find out what I needed to do to be approved for a home loan to achieve the dream of owning my own home. I was then told that with my student loans from university and my teacher’s salary, my debt to income ratio would never be approved. Now I felt I was being punished for choosing to be an educator, essentially, a low-income professional. Basically, the mortgage lenders gave me a death sentence to be at the mercy of the whim of Ashland landlords that charge whatever they want for rentals regardless of substandard conditions, because they know the competition is fierce and can handpick their tenants to strategically weed out families with children. I would either have to abandon my current teaching profession of 20 years for a more lucrative position and change career fields, or be bound to the renter’s cycle forever.
The Habitat for Humanity project was honestly the first time that I had hope of not being turned down because I have 4 children. The chance to finally become a homeowner and be able to purchase my own home and the fact that it is a new home that I get to help build with my own hands and have the support of my community of friends that have walked through our difficulties in finding housing feels like nothing less than a miracle. This means we will never again be forced to rent smaller spaces to be able to afford Ashland rent, never again be turned down for a rental because we have 4 daughters, we can have pets, paint rooms if we desire, we can build towards a more stable financial future. The American dream, after all, has no nationality, it is justa human dream and we are dreaming again and excited for the future because now we have a fair chance to build ours.
The Compher Family
House #79
The past two years have felt like a tornado that keeps on going for our family. We long our long time family home in the Almeda Fire of 2020. This was a very stressful situation for our family. We lost everything – clothes, treasured items, photos, everything but what we could quickly grab to take with us. It was not easy to accept and it was especially hard on my children.
After the fire we began to work towards recovery. The four of us, my three children and myself, moved into a fifth wheel temporarily – or so we thought. It was a tight squeeze and quickly felt like the walls were closing in on us with two preteen girls sharing a tiny space with their rambunctious 5 year old brother. With the lack of access to affordable housing and limited income, it was a huge struggle. I quickly began to realize that I was stuck and could not afford to move with the sudden overwhelming demand and rising prices of housing in the Valley.
I am a hard-working guy and my pride gets in the way of asking for helping or applying for assistance. Luckily for me, a friend knew about the Habitat opportunity and convinced me to look into it further. Thankfully, her advice led me to take the plunge and apply but never expecting for my family to have a chance.
It all seemed so unreal when our family was chosen. My kids will have a home again. A real kitchen that we can cook together in. A home with real heat and endless water. A new home to grow up in and create memories. I can rest easier knowing Habitat for Humanity has given my family this opportunity. I am forever grateful for everyone involved in this process and making this dream come true.
The Reyes-Medina Family
House #78
Hello, we are the Reyes-Medina family. The last few years have been a roller coaster of events that has transformed our family. I am Marilu Medina, (Mom) and was born and raised in Southern Oregon and have lived in Talent pretty much my entire life, until the Almeda fire changed all of that. My husband, (Moi) was a long time resident of Ashland before meeting me. We married and lived in Talent. I have two boys in high school, (Erik and David). One son in heaven, (Lukas) and two, two year old twin girls, (Natalia and Sophia).
I would say that the roller coaster ride started around 2018. We were expecting a new addition to our family and everyone was excited to meet him. Unfortunately Lukas was stillborn. We were devastated and heartbroken. Not too long after we found out that we were expecting twin girls. The pregnancy was one filled with anxiety, and excitement. In February of 2020 we were blessed to welcome our daughters into our loving family. Our boys were doing great in school, our family landscaping business was slowly progressing, and it seemed like we were on a good path.
Then, in March 2020, the pandemic happened. We had no choice but to wait it out in our home as we watched stores, schools, and work shut down. We thought that things would get better soon and go back to normal. Unfortunately this never happened…..
September 8th, 2020 is when the Almeda fire came and ripped through our town. It was our sons first day back to school. We lost our home of 13 years and our landscaping business that was our only source of income, along with what few precious mementos we had of our youngest son. There was no time to grieve or cry, we were in survival mode. Each day we would wake up trying to find resources and new information all while taking care of our four kids and dealing with the loss of our business.
We bounced around from different family members’ homes, to a hotel, to a FEMA trailer but eventually we had to move in with my Mom in her home where we used the living room and a spare bedroom as a space for our family. Despite all of this we hadn’t lost hope, we couldn’t, not after all that we had been through. Our kids needed a stable place to live, to feel safe, and to thrive in.
As the months passed we saw our former neighbors, Almeda survivors, leave their hometowns to move out of state. There was a housing shortage and inflation had gone into overdrive creating new challenges for families to face. Lack of homes and the rising cost of rent was pushing our dream of stable housing back even further. Although we had already started to rebuild our business money was still very tight. We started to think that maybe moving out of state wasn’t a bad idea, but I didn’t want to leave the community that I was raised in, the community that my children were raised in, and have to start over from ground zero.
Around this time Habitat for humanity announced another round of Almeda survivor applications for housing. We applied the first time but were not selected. We hesitated a bit at first but decided to reapply. After all, if you don’t try then nothing changes but if you do try then there could be a chance. We texted friends, family, and our church family to pray for us as we waited to see what the outcome would be.
Much like the first time we applied we received an interview but then things started to change. We got asked to come in for another interview! Soon we were told that we got accepted into the Habitat for Humanity program. Our hearts were overflowing with joy and gratitude. We were finally going to have a permanent home to settle down in. When we found out the home was in
Talent we were moved to tears. Habitat for Humanity choosing our family means that we can return to our hometown, to our community, to the place that I was raised in and that my children have been raised in. We have gone through so much but we have also been blessed with many things. Our hearts are now filled with gratitude, joy, and hope for the future.
The Garcia Family
House #77
Ever since I lost my home due to the Almeda fire in Sept 2020, everything has been very difficult. I miss having my own home – a place where my child can play outside or have a garden space to grow beautiful flowers and vegetables. As a single mother, I worked so hard to purchase our home. It was not everyone’s idea of the perfect place but it was ours and we worked hard for it. Our home was an older manufactured home in a park but we worked hard to fix it up – we painted the walls beautiful colors, I decorated the rooms and in an instant, it was gone. Everything was gone.
Then after came the realization that finding something else that we could afford was going to be next to impossible. Between my limited budget and the very high prices, even renting seemed to be something I could not afford. Then someone told me about Habitat. They said Habitat for Humanity had a program that was helping fire survivors who were low-income build homes… they were helping families like ours build homes we could afford! I applied for the program and hoped for the best. I prayed that this would be the answer we were waiting for.
On August 26th Habitat knocked on our door with a sign and balloons to share that we were one of the lucky families to join the Habitat for Humanity Program. I am so happy for this opportunity and thankful for each and every person who is helping to make this dream come true. I am looking forward to having my new home and a place for my family. God bless you all!
The Rodriguez Family
House #76
My husband, myself and our three kids moved to Southern Oregon in 2009 to help a family member that was fighting a battle with cancer. Since our arrival we have worked hard but always lived a modest but happy lifestyle. Since moving here, our family grew and we are now a household of seven. I wouldn’t change it for the world but it has definitely caused us to adapt to living in tight space.
We always had a dream of becoming homeowners but it just seemed like things were always in the way. Finances too tight, unexpected emergencies or medical issues – there was always something else. The closest we got was owning our manufactured home in Phoenix. It was older and small but it was ours. My husband loves carpentry and worked hard to fix it up and turn it into something better than most people would have expected. Unfortunately our home and almost everything we own was lost to the Almeda fire last year. It was a horrific experience but I am very thankful that my family and my kids were able to evacuate safely.
After finding a temporary place to call home, we began discussions as a family of what to do next. Housing here is so hard and incredibly expensive but this is home and where our kids wanted to stay. The other option was Texas without family and a more affordable housing market. Some amazing friends referred us to apply for the Almeda housing program with Habitat. If it worked it would be a dream come true, if not we would move.
It worked! We were selected and I was shocked! I imagined that so many families applied and that getting chosen would be one in a million but it happened, we were chosen. This opportunity and new home will mean everything to us. Stability for my children and a reminder that everything happens for a reason and good can come after a storm. We need to remember that God is with us in every moment and life is full of obstacles but we could still see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The Diaz Family
House #75
Hello, we are the Diaz Family and we wanted to share a bit about our story. We moved to the Southern Oregon from California in 2006. At that time it was just me, my wife and our two young daughters. Starting out in a new place was a challenge. We literally started with nothing – eating dinner sitting on the floor in the dining room. From there, we worked hard and made it work. We furnished the apartment little by little and ended up call it home for seven years… and along the way we added two more daughters, Zoe and Brisa.
In 2013 we moved to Talent. We rented our little dream home on S. Pacific Hwy and it was perfect for us. Secluded, big fenced yard, space for everyone and amazing landlords. That home saw us through many tough times. Our daughter Ariadna was diagnosed with type one diabetes as well as depression and anxiety. We were in and out of the hospital, trips to Portland for her diabetes. Things were rough and there was only one income in the family.
As if it wasn’t hard enough, COVID lockdowns hit the hospitality industry like a brick wall and as a facilities maintenance worker, I was basically out of work from March until the end of July. Bills were behind, money was so tight and things were very stressful. Just as we started to see things coming back together… the fire came. Our house was gone – we lost everything. Everything.
From there, housing was a nightmare. First staying in a hotel room then being offered temporary housing in Applegate. It’s a long, hour drive from Applegate to Ashland every day and back. Not to mention with only one car, it’s a challenge. Knowing we needed a solution, we found out about Habitat for Humanity and their program for fire survivors. We applied and didn’t even consider the chance that we would be chosen… but we were blessed. We were chosen and we are so thankful that Habitat is going to be able to help my family and I with a home. It has always been our dream to have a house for our family and now thanks to God and Habitat, this will be a blessing and a dream come true.
The Garcia Family
House #74
We are a family of five. My oldest daughter Lizbeth is 17, my son Angel is 14 and my youngest daughter is Kelly and she is 9. My wife Maria and I have lived in the Rogue Valley for over 20 years. Most of that time we have spent in the Talent community and just recently were forced to relocate to Central Point.
Just about a year ago we lost our home to the Almeda fire. The outcome was very unexpected and we left pretty much all of our belongings behind. Like most, we took a change of clothes and a couple of personal items expecting to return home the same evening or at worst, the next day. Everything was gone – we had to literally start over. The first few months we stayed wherever we could. We spent time with family members and even rented a small studio apartment while we waited for other housing to become available. Finally, housing became available at a complex in Central Point.
Our unit in Central Point is upstairs and with medical conditions that wife experiences that can be a challenge. On top of that, our youngest daughter has imperative autism and it makes it hard for her to focus and at times she can get carried away which has caused issues with the neighbors below due to the noise. Our apartment is affordable but money is still tight due to Miguel being the only wage earner. At the end of the day we are thankful to all be safe and to have a roof over our heads but we miss our community.
This new home with Habitat for Humanity will mean everything to us. Since money has always been a challenge for us, we never dreamed that we would be able to have an opportunity like this to be a homeowner. We will never again have to worry about having our own space or where we may have to go next. We will have a home and our kids can return to the schools with friends, where they were so comfortable and successful. We are so excited to begin this journey and so thankful.
The Gravatt Family
House #72
Our family has always lived by our family bible verse. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Our struggles have been many and our blessings as well. We have walked by faith into an unknown future knowing that the Lord will guide every step of our journey. Through the good, being married for 10 years, our beautiful children, Malachi (7), Makenna (6), Mason (3) and Mckinley (1) and the blessing of a good job for my husband Joe. We have also gone through the bad, losing jobs, a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when our first son was only 6 months old that put Joe in the ICU for 6 days and the loss of children. There are days that seemed never-ending and tough and days that our lives were forever changed.
We have always tried to look at the brighter side of things and when we moved into our current house it was perfect for my husband, myself and a baby on the way. A two bedroom house for three. 8 years later we are now a family of 6 in a two bedroom and things have gotten tight. We do the best we can, but the housing market is tough. We have not been able to find anything in our budget. It has always been we can have a bigger house, but we wouldn’t be able to have anything else like food, electricity, clothes, diapers, a car, and necessities. When we heard of Habitat for Humanity we were not sure if we would qualify, but we took a leap of faith to see if this was the next step in our journey. A new home partnered with Habitat would mean everything to us. To be able to have a place we can call ours, a place to have our very first dining room table (we have never had the space for one), a place our kids can invite friends over to and a place our boys could have their own space and our girls could have their own space, too. A place we can call a forever home.
The Alfrey Family
House #71
My name is Aisa and was born and raised in the Rogue Valley. My childhood was not short of any adversity or challenges. My mother was the sole supporter of our family and unfortunately due to financial difficulties, moving around became normal, along with the instability. Due to an unsafe situation at the home of my mother I had to move in with my newly stable father at age 13. It was a wonderful place for me to mature and was extremely comfortable and stable. I graduated from high school and gave birth to my daughter, Annabelle. Realizing that her father and I were not the best fit for each other, we split, sharing custody of our daughter. It was after that split that I then met my fiancé, Seth.
While planning the next step for our growing family, Seth, my daughter and I lived with Seth's father in Grants Pass. After the birth of our son, Jackson, I came to find that it was an unsafe place for my daughter and my family to be. The only quick housing solution that I was able to find was with my mother in one bedroom of her home in Talent. With no room for Seth, his employer being in Merlin, and with his unreliable transportation, Seth was forced to move into a make-shift plywood room attached to the exterior of his mother's home in Rogue River. Now, my son, daughter and I live in one small bedroom which contains a crib, my queen bed and Annabelle's twin bed. Besides being overcrowded, the biggest challenge for us is that Seth only gets to see us once a week as he works 6 days a week in Merlin.
My fiancé and I were beginning to question the possibility of our family ever having the opportunity of being together again. It seemed that every avenue was turning into a dead end. The Habitat program will be a dream come true. It will finally be a safe and stable place for our family to live and most important, it will provide us the ability to all be together again. I miss my partner and my children miss their dad. Thank you for the opportunity of uniting us again.
The Holland Family
House #70
We remember being hopeful last October when our friend and neighbor brought us information on how to apply to become Habitat homeowners. We didn’t want to get our hopes up but knew that being accepted was definitely a possibility. We are soon to be a family of five and besides longing to attain the dream of homeownership, we are bursting at the seams in our small home! My husband and I have two beautiful little girls: Izzy 8, Hannah 3, and we are expecting our son, Isaic, in June.
My husband works full time and to save on the very expensive cost of childcare, I stay at home with our children. With only one income we don’t qualify for the average mortgage loan and with the current rental market, moving to a larger home and doubling our rent wasn’t an option. So we stayed put in the little two-bedroom duplex that we rent and trusted in the Lord to someday provide a way for us to have a larger home of our own. We just had no idea that God’s plan would include Habitat for Humanity and that it could happen this soon! We really believe that Habitat is a bridge to many, many blessings, one of them being a comfortable home for our children.
Habitat for Humanity and all those who work together to serve their community are not only helping my husband and I with the opportunity to purchase an affordable “forever” home but also helping the next generation to have a safe and stable place to grow up in. Thank you to all the hands, staff and volunteers, that have helped make our dream and the dreams of others a reality. You helped make a way for us when it seemed that there was no way. We are so grateful and excited.
Looking for Your Family Story?
We are only able to feature a limited number of Habitat families on this page. Every family who partners with Habitat for Humanity Rogue Valley is an important part of our story and mission.
If you are a Habitat family and do not see your story listed, we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to our team so we can connect and explore sharing your journey with our community.
📧 marketing@roguevalleyhabitat.org 📞 541-779-7983